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Norm Duke Struggles But Still Holds 66th Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open Lead
Field cut to 103 players for Friday’s nine-game qualifying round



North Brunswick, N.J. (April 2, 2009) – Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Norm Duke retained his position as qualifying leader in the 66th Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open for the second consecutive day but found the going a lot tougher Thursday at Brunswick Zone Carolier.



Duke has a 3,997 18-game pinfall (overall 222.0 average) to hold a 48-pin lead over reigning PBA Player of the Year Chris Barnes. In Thursday’s third-round six-game qualifying block Duke struggled, rolling a 146 in the second game and averaging 195.1.



The original field of 415 professional and amateur bowlers has now been cut to the top 103 who will bowl an additional nine-game qualifying round Friday morning to determine the 24 players who advance to round-robin match play Friday evening. The top five players after match play will advance to the live, two-hour ESPN-televised stepladder finals on Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern.



“It’s going to catch up with you sooner or later in the U.S. Open and it happens to everyone,” Duke said of his sub-par performance Thursday. “It was just one of those days where I felt even some of my best shots turned into splits. I think I had at least two splits in every game.



“I’m disappointed but I haven’t lost the desire and that’s very important. You just have to keep digging.”



Duke, with three titles this season and Barnes with two wins, are in the running for Player of the Year honors but must win to have a shot at that title.



Duke, a 32-time PBA Tour titlist who has won professional bowling’s Grand Slam and Triple Crown, is trying to become the first bowler to defend a U.S. Open title since Dave Husted accomplished the feat in 1995 and 1996.



Currently in 41st with a 3,685 pinfall (204.7 average), Wes Malott, who also won three titles this season and has the inside track for Player of the Year, made the tournament’s first cut but has some work to do to make the top 24 for match play.



“Yesterday I gave a lot of pins away because I wasn’t feeling 100 percent and that affected my ability to focus,” said Malott, who has six career PBA Tour titles. “I felt better today and was able to rebound.



“Tomorrow’s another day and with a nine-game qualifying block to go there’s a lot of bowling left to make it to the top 24.”



The U.S. Open winner will earn a $100,000 first prize, a three-year PBA Tour exemption and Grand Slam points which will impact players trying to qualify for the GEICO PBA Team Shootout hosted by Six Flags in June.





LUMBER LIQUIDATORS PBA TOUR

66th Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open

Brunswick Zone Carolier, North Brunswick, N.J.

Round 3 Qualifying After 18 Games
1, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 3,997
2, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 3,949
3, Tony Reyes, San Bruno, Calif., 3,873
4, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 3,869
5, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 3,844
6, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 3,842
7, Doug Kent, Newark, N.Y., 3,840
8, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 3,822
9, Matthew O'Grady, South Amboy, N.J., 3,808
10, Ronnie Russell, Indianapolis, 3,800
11, Jeff Lizzi, Sandusky, Ohio, 3,788
12, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 3,774
13, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 3,755
14, Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., 3,754
15, Vinny D'Ambrosio III, Staten Island, N.Y., 3,748
16, Don Allen III, Vancouver, Wash., 3,745
17, Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 3,743
18, P.J. Sonday, Avoca, Pa., 3,739
19, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 3,737
20, Mike DeVaney, San Diego, 3,731
21, Sean Riccardi, Piscataway, N.J., 3,728
22, Rhino Page, Topeka, Kan., 3,727
22, Robert Smith, Columbus, Ohio, 3,727
24, Kenneth Jessee, Huber Heights, Ohio, 3,720
25, Ron Nelson Jr., Bridgeview, Ill., 3,718
26, Dave D'Entremont, Middleburg Heights, Ohio, 3,717
27, Richard Wolfe, Vienna, Va., 3,714
28, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 3,710
29, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 3,707
30, Rick Hara, Darien, Ill., 3,706
30, Anthony LaCaze, Glen Ellyn, Ill., 3,706
32, Troy Wollenbecker, Miami, 3,705
33, Ritchie Allen, Columbia, S.C., 3,699
34, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 3,697
35, Craig Tuholski, Washougal, Wash., 3,695
36, Mike Rose Jr., Rochester, N.Y., 3,693
37, Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla., 3,692
38, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 3,689
39, Paul Pinto, Philadelphia, 3,688
39, Jesse Buss, Wichita, Kan., 3,688
41, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 3,685
42, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 3,682
43, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 3,681
44, James Wallace, Hicksville, N.Y., 3,678
45, William Barlow, Edgewood, Md., 3,674
46, John Furey, Freehold, N.J., 3,670
47, Shawn McKee, Concord, N.C., 3,666
48, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 3,662
49, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 3,660
50, Jim Tomek Jr., Camp Hill, Pa., 3,654
51, Mitch Beasley, Puyallup, Wash., 3,653
52, P.J. Haggerty, Clovis, Calif., 3,646
53, Peter Spreadbury, Oak Forest, Ill., 3,644
54, Michael Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 3,642
55, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 3,638
56, Jeff Carter, Springfield, Ill., 3,637
57, Lindsay Baker, Amherst, N.Y., 3,636
58, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 3,633
59, Don Breeden, Clive, Iowa, 3,632
60, Jason Baker, Sharon Springs, N.Y., 3,628
61, Chad Kloss, Greenfield, Wis., 3,626
62, Edward VanDaniker Jr., Essex, Md., 3,624
63, Jason Wojnar, Chicago, 3,620
63, Chris Forry, Bridgeport, Conn., 3,620
65, Billy Oatman, Chicago, 3,610
66, Chun Bae, Cedarhurst, N.Y., 3,608
67, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 3,607
67, Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan., 3,607
69, Nick Weber, St. Charles, Mo., 3,605
69, Brian LeClair, Athens, N.Y., 3,605
71, Joe Bailey, Pittsburgh, 3,602
72, Bobby Hall II, Landover, Md., 3,600
73, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 3,595
73, Jeff Morin, Hoptacong, N.J., 3,595
75, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 3,593
75, Brian Voss, Kennesaw, Ga., 3,593
77, Jim Thomas, Binghamton, N.Y., 3,590
78, Shannon Buchan, Waterloo, Iowa, 3,589
79, Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga., 3,586
80, Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 3,582
80, George Lambert IV, Canada, 3,582
82, Derek Petty, Potomac Falls, Va., 3,579
83, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 3,576
84, Jeff Kubasak, Staten Island, N.Y., 3,563
85, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 3,562
85, Geoff Wetzler, Tolland, Conn., 3,562
87, Joe Ciccone, Buffalo, N.Y., 3,560
88, Michael Marsico, Chesapeake Beach, Md., 3,558
88, Butch Cormier, Lafayette, La., 3,558
90, Ray Edwards, Middle Island, N.Y., 3,557
91, Paul Gibson, Brunswick, Ohio, 3,556
92, Tom Sorce, Blasdell, N.Y., 3,554
92, Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 3,554
94, Scott Lavy, Troy, Mo., 3,553
94, Christopher Collins, Savannah, Ga., 3,553
94, Robert Mockenhaupt, Pompton Lakes, N.J., 3,553
94, Kenny Parks, Hammond, Ind., 3,553
98, Gean Perez, Puerto Rico, 3,550
99, Alex Aguiar, Dartmouth, Mass., 3,549
100, Todd Book, Wapakoneta, Ohio, 3,546
100, Dennis Beagle, Lehigh Acres, Fla., 3,546

About the PBA

The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) features the best bowlers in the world competing in National, Regional and Senior Tour events and will award over $4.3 million in prize money during the 2008-09 Lumber Liquidators PBA National Tour. The organization has more than 4,000 members spanning 13 countries, and nearly one million viewers tune-in to watch the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour every Sunday on ESPN throughout the season. PBA sponsors include Bayer, Brunswick, CLR, Denny's, Etonic, Flomax, GEICO, Go RVing, H&R Block, Lumber Liquidators, Motel 6, Pepsi-Cola and the USBC, among others. For more information on the PBA, log on to www.pba.com. This season marks the 50th Anniversary of the PBA Tour.